Page 17 of Fitzwilliam Darcy Undone
It was only when their company was disrupted by the arrival of Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy that the euphoric haze lifted from her mind and her limbs felt strangely sluggish.
“Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth!” Bingley exclaimed from atop his horse after tipping his hat in their direction. “I was just on my way to Longbourn to inquire after your health.”
“I am well, Mr. Bingley. Thank you.” Jane said, a light blush tingeing her cheeks.
Mr. Darcy glanced at Lizzy for one brief moment and she saw again that flicker of banked heat before a mask of cool civility fell in place. He casually looked toward the rest of their company, stopping cold when his gaze fell onto Mr. Wickham. Because she’d been watching Mr. Darcy so closely, she noticed a flash of anger, and turning to Mr. Wickham she was equally surprised by a sense of fear, which he quickly disguised by tipping his hat in a most sardonic manner toward Mr. Darcy. It happened so fast she couldn’t be sure what had happened between the two men, but she was very aware that Mr. Darcy did not return Mr. Wickham’s silent greeting. He wheeled his horse around and took off at a thunderous pace toward Netherfield Park. Confused by his friend’s abrupt departure, Mr. Bingley called out his regrets and left them standing beside their new acquaintance. It wasn’t until they were walking home and discussing the events that Lizzy realized no one else had noticed the strange behavior between the two men and, after Mr. Darcy left, Mr. Wickham hadn’t seemed so charming.
Chapter Seven
Bloody hell!
He’d known Wickham would be arriving to join the ____shire Militia, he just hadn’t expected to see him sidling up and acting the gentleman with his Elizabeth.
He pulled up and awaited Bingley. His poor friend must be wondering what in God’s green earth had gotten into him. Lately his emotions rolled about like an empty barrel in the back of a careening cart. He’d insulted Bingley’s sister, although she deserved it, and rudely left gentlewomen standing in the street without so much as a proper greeting. He’d also been taken up with many illicit thoughts of a beautiful woman. Bingley would expire from lack of air if he even had a whiff of how strong his desire for Elizabeth was. The old legends were true. When a Darcy met his soul mate, nothing would keep him from her. Although he knew in his heart she was the one, it would only be solidified when they finally touched skin on skin with their hands, and a small mark appeared on both their wrists. But, in order for that to happen, she had to have Miatharan blood flowing in her veins. If she didn’t, his chest constricted at the thought, he’d be forced to shelve this disastrous infatuation and continue to seek his wife elsewhere. When Alexander D’Arcy came over from Normandy with King William in 1066, he refused to take a wife from the Anglo Saxons they’d conquered. As such, the Darcy family were the only pure Miatharan blood-line left in England. He did not want to be the first to break tradition, but the pull from Elizabeth was stronger than anything he’d ever experienced.
Bloody hell.
“Darcy!” Charles called out as he approached. “That was uncommonly rude, even for you.”
Ah, it seemed Miss Bingleyhadspoken with her brother about his behavior at the Lucas gathering.
“I’m sorry Bingley.” He watched his friend canter up and they then proceeded at a walk toward Netherfield. “When I saw Wickham−”
“Wickham was there?”
Darcy frowned and cut a sideway glance toward his friend, then shook his head. Charles was so enraptured by Miss Jane Bennet he saw no one else when in her company.
“I don’t know how he met the Bennet sisters so quickly.”
“Although I didn’t see your friend−”
“He’s no friend of mine!”
“Pardon me, although I didn’t seehim, I did notice another man in their company wearing regimentals. My best guess would be Miss Lydia and Miss Catherine initiated the conversation. They are quite vocal of how much they adore a man in a red coat.”
“Aye, that much is true. You’d have to be deaf to not hear them going into raptures at any gathering.”
“It’s a deuced problem if he’s here for any length of time. I wonder if he’s only passing through and should we warn the Bennet’s of his, ahh..., habits.”
Bingley knew of Wickham’s proclivity to dally with young women and rack up copious amounts of debt, but he had no knowledge of Georgiana’s folly and never would. Unwilling to give Wickham cause to bolt before he and Richard could act, Darcy needed to fall back onto society’s view of him as an arrogant man.
“Knowing Wickham, he’s here only long enough to fleece some poor soldier of his pay and then make off for greener pastures. I daresay he’ll not spend much time in the company of good society.”
They turned into the stable courtyard and released their rides to the stable master. He couldn’t share with Bingley that he knew Wickham was here for the duration of the ____shire Militia’s training. By feigning ignorance of Wickham’s’ activities, no misspoken word would fall into his greatest enemy’s ear. Gathering and studying intelligence was the only way to defeat his nemesis. With luck, Richard had successfully scouted out the encampment, ensuring Wickham had not laid any boundary wards, although he very likely would do after their chance encounter this afternoon. As long as Wickham didn’t perceive his interest in Elizabeth, Darcy knew he’d find a way to diminish his dark power and, with a heartfelt prayer toward God the creator, they’d purge England of this scourge.
If Wickham gained a foothold, and a following, there could be another uprising like what happened in France. All it took was one disgruntled worker of the Dark Arts, who had some knowledge of Miatharan lore, to raise an army of dissidents. Knowing a Miatharan would never abandon their mate, all he had to do was successfully capture their loved one and then wait patiently for a half-mad Miatharan to fall into his hands. Simple, yet effective. It was how almost all the French nobility were captured and slaughtered during the Reign of Terror; the king included. Maybe if the Queen, who Louis married when she was only fourteen, had magic, the resulting revolution might have been averted. They both could have transported themselves to safety.
Who would have thought such madness would prevail so close to England’s shores? And with Napoleon attempting to fill the gap the Miatharans had held for centuries... He shook his head. God willing, he’d do his best to ensure his corner of the world held some semblance of sanity and that meant stopping Wickham before it was too late or England could very well be plunged back into the Middle Ages where dark wizards ruled with an iron fist.
“You have returned earlier than expected.”
Miss Bingley met them at the door, making Darcy wonder if she planted herself by a window watching for them. If she had, he wouldn’t be surprised. At times she behaved as though he’d not given her a rough set-down, still believing she would somehow become mistress of Pemberley. Other than giving her the cut direct, which was hard to do when he was staying in her brother’s house, he had no recourse but to continue on with polite civility.
“We saw the Miss Bennet’s in town, but they were−” Bingley started to say when Darcy cut him off.
“They were already engaged to attend their aunt’s and we did not want to make them late.”
At first, Bingley seemed confused as to why he interrupted him telling Miss Bingley of Wickham’s appearance and looked as though he’d continue on, but when Darcy gave him a slight shake of his head, he plastered on a bright smile, declaring that he was ready for some tea and scones as their ride, though short, caused him to build a tremendous appetite. Darcy mouthed a silent thank you toward his friend when Miss Bingley whirled around and went in search of the housekeeper to advise her of their plans.
